Sting walks in Fields of Grapes

British rock star Sting is walking in fields of grapes rather than gold as he prepares to market red wine made at his country estate in Tuscany.

The Police front-man has produced some 30,000 bottles of wine at the property which will go on sale in September, predominantly in Britain and the United States.

The Roxanne singer, 57, purchased a 16th-century villa, called Il Palagio, in Figline Valdarno, a small village some 19 miles south of Florence, in 1997.

Over the years he has turned the surrounding 860 acres (350 hectares) into an organic farm that also produces honey, olive oil, fruit, vegetables and Tuscan salami.

"When I came here to Figline I wanted first of all to feed my family," Sting said.
"I also wanted to use agriculture with practicesthat would nourish the land and not deplete the land and so we went to traditional methods with farming, we got rid of pesticides, we shunned monoculture, and it works, the farm is also a garden," he told local television station Rtv38.


The upcoming wine, the name of which has not yet been revealed, will be a 2007 vintage based on the Sangiovese grape, with a touch of Cabernet and Merlot. A 2008 Chianti could also go on sale in the autumn,but tests on the wine’s aging must be conducted before a decision is made.
The wine, along with other products made on the Sting farm, will also be available at a shop on the property that the singer will open by June.

Alan Lodge 20.03.2009